The modulations to Talyn were working as planned. The Peacekeepers all
acted like Talyn was not even there. He was able to maneuver so it looked
like Moya was returning the gunfire. The confusion from an unarmed ship
returning fire would work to their advantage.
Talyn's shielding had to be increased as well to contain the highly
specialized modifications. Any hits that effectively knocked out the
shielding could blow the outer hull, resulting in instant, excruciating
death for Talyn. Talyn, himself a soldier, accepted the risk.
The illusion kept the Peacekeeper battalion at bay, but would not continue forever. Talyn continued to eliminate the smaller ships as they ventured closer.
Moya was required to maneuver as if she were firing weapons. Those aboard were having difficulty maintaining footing. Aeryn and John were clinging to wall sections, trying to advance to command. Each of the decks had to be periodically checked during the battle. The phase modifications had not been able to render Moya cloaked, but they were able to mask the power to the shields, making her appear weak and unprotected fully in spots.
"Prowler pilots are trained to target the weak areas on a vessel, enabling the commandos to board," Aeryn had explained, "Reversing the strength signatures of the shielding will direct the prowler fire to the areas that are actually the strongest."
Another blast and roll sent John stumbling suddenly to the other side of the passageway. He slammed into the wall.
"Too bad we couldn't modulate some padding for in here. I haven't felt this beat up since I played football for U.N.C.," he smiled crookedly at the memory, "I was a tight end."
Aeryn glanced down, appreciatively at Crichton's backside.
"Your tight end seems to be in perfect working order." She replied, as the next wave of weapons fire rocked Moya to her side. Aeryn was thrown to the floor near Crichton's feet. He helped her back up and they continued the checking of the amplification modules. Crichton allowed himself time for a silly grin.
D'Argo was checking the areas in the lower decks where the shielding was actually strongest, so the weapon's fire was most concentrated. D'Argo had been in battles plenty, and was surefooted as he moved from station to station checking the polarity modifications.
"Pilot. Aft cargo section 9C has a decline in power. Can you isolate and increase it to rephase?"
"In a moment, D'Argo. I am reading fluctuations in central atmospherics that I need to address.
"I'll fix it myself." D'Argo growled. He was not incompetent, and he was still bristling from Crais' insinuations. He tore the access panel off and began the modulations. At the precise moment D'Argo had his hands on the stabilizer, a pulse burst struck the hull. The energy of the pulse would normally have been dispersed across the shielding, but the modulations never intended a pulse to reach the actual hull surface. The reversed polarizations caused the shielding to concentrate the energy flow into a broad beam rather than disperse it. The beam arced through the hull into D'Argo.
Simultaneously Moya and D'Argo howled in pain. Pilot was able to redirect enough energy to the area to block off the hull breach caused by the beam.
Crais witnessed the event through Talyn.
"Do not lower your shielding Talyn!" Talyn was agitated at his mother's pain, but maintained his battle focus. His link to the Captain was strong and a comfort to him, to be able to draw on the battle experience was invaluable. Talyn's first instinct was to lower the modulated shielding to allow him to fire his weaponry more efficiently, thus eliminating the threat to his family.
"I can assist Pilot in helping Moya. It is up to you to protect Rainne and K'Tahli and to destroy the prowlers so we can destroy the transport. You can do this, Talyn. You have learned well. You are strong enough."
Talyn turned and rolled, firing in several directions at once. The prowlers, sensing that they had scored a significant blow, were renewing their efforts. Crais' face showed his concern at the multidirectional firing sequence so close to Moya.
"Crais buddy" John's tone was in direct conflict to his friendly choice of terminology, "Did you tell junior to start shooting at us? Was that part of your original plan? Is that why you came here?" John was advancing on Crais' position. Crais was in a familiar stance, head cocked as if listening to an internal voice.
"Wait!" Ashan put his hand on Crichton's arm to restrain him.
Crais seemed to smile proudly for a moment. Talyn continued his weapons fire.
"He's done something to his weaponry, hasn't he?" Ashan guessed from the look on Crais' face. Unlike John, Ashan did not have three cycles of first hand reason to suspect Crais' motives.
"He was with us, through your link, in our strategy room." Ashan continued, smiling as it dawned on him. Not having spent as much time on Talyn, Ashan hadn't had time to appreciate the multiple talents of the growing Leviathan.
"That is correct. The beams are harmless to Moya. Talyn was in fact listening to our shield modifications and changing his weapon sequences." Crais replied. "Brilliant Talyn!"
Crais listened again for a moment. Talyn proudly announced he had been watching Rainne and K'Tahli work together on their own power and control issues, and he learned a great deal from their solution. He had drawn upon the hand of friendship to use Crais' scientific knowledge and his own vast powerful weapons. If K'Tahli and Rainne could discover a way to use Rainne's own potent weapon for a non-destructive purpose, then so could Talyn.
Crais was momentarily stunned. His pride at the ingenuity of Talyn was surpassed by the knowledge that Rainne had forever changed the trajectory of more than just his life. She had freed Talyn to be more than just a warship, bred to kill like any Peacekeeper. So intense was the realization, Crais let down his guard for a moment. He returned Ashan's smile.
"Pilot!" Aeryn called, "How is Moya?"
"She is in pain, but stable. The energy beam has left a puncture in her hulls. I have sent DRD's to repair it. I cannot raise D'Argo on the comm. He was nearest to the blast site."
"On my way." Aeryn raced down the passageway, "Send Ashan, D'Argo may be injured."
She had no idea how true her words would prove to be.
Ashan rounded the corner in the passageway and saw D'Argo writhing in pain on the floor. Residual phase pulse energy arced from his prone body to the various metal components in the passage, causing his agony to increase.
Ashan ran to the Luxan, crouched beside him. His pulses were erratic. Their phase modifications were made with leviathan physiology in mind, not Luxan. The pulses were stopping and starting his hearts at random intervals. The pain was excruciating. He howled in pain. Ashan tried to heal the damage the pulses had done. The lungs were undamaged, but there was swelling from phase burned tissue in the bronchial passages. Ashan tried to concentrate to renew the seared flesh.
A residual pulse leapt from the Luxan's body and struck Ashan's hands. He leapt back in pain. His hands were burned, but not badly enough to stop him. The scattered pulses had randomly destroyed synaptic pathways in D'Argo's brain. He was partly conscious. In a moment of lucidity he grabbed Ashan's arm.
"Please." he began. His eyes rolled back in his head, and whatever he had planned to say was lost in the viscous roar of Luxan rage. The damaged pathways in his brain that control the rage were gone. His head thrashed from side to side and his hands clawed at the air. Ashan tried to maintain the contact required to heal the damage, but the Luxan could not be held still.
"Crais!" Ashan called over his comm. "I need K'Tahli. I cannot heal him alone, the damage is too great. She channels power to me. It may be D'Argo's only chance at survival."
Crais heard the request, and hesitated relaying the order to Talyn. He could hear the Luxan howling in the intermittent throes of rage. Ashan would not risk K'Tahli to save the Luxan, would he? Crais decided in the same instant that he would not.
"The request has been made. Talyn assures me that she is on her way."
"Thank you."
Ashan worked tirelessly on the D'Argo. The rage had momentarily abated and he was still as death. The damage to his body was severe, Ashan was surprised he had lived this long.
"Ashan." D'Argo forced out the words, "Let me alone. It is honorable for a warrior to die alone." He gnashed his teeth, his face a mask of pure pain as the pulses ripped through his body. Ashan was not able to stop the pulses from robbing the flesh of its energy and it was indeed killing the Luxan.
"I am afraid I cannot comply. I am dedicated to healing. I can not let you alone while there is life in you."
"THEN I SHALL TAKE YOUR LIFE!" D'Argo bellowed. He tried to lunge at Ashan's throat, but his motor functions were nearly gone.
K'Tahli rushed off the transport and ran to the passageway where Ashan was working on D'Argo. She hurried to Ashan's side and knelt beside him. The familiar tingle surrounded her and she heard Ashan's breathing slow. The amplification of his gift of healing was calming to them both, a vital side effect in battle situations.
They fought the damage to his system side by side for a quarter of an arn.
"We are losing him." Ashan ground from between clenched teeth.
K'Tahli, not breaking her bond with Ashan, called out to Rainne with her mind.
"Rainne? Could you return to Moya? I need your help."
"I am still here. Talyn needed to execute a flank attack and thought it safe I wait until he came back to the docking bay side to retrieve me. Why?" Rainne knew that D'Argo was hurt, and hurt badly. Perhaps K'Tahli was offering her the opportunity to make peace with D'Argo before he died. She quickened her steps.
"No, he is not dead but he is close to it. The phase modification has given the energy inside him a renewing pulse. The pulse is damaging the areas we just finished healing. I think the only one who has the energy needed to knock this pulse out of the killing phase is you."
Rainne was on the verge of agreeing when she came around the corner and saw D'Argo. The rages had begun anew and he was bellowing incoherently about death and blood. The vision brought her to a terrified halt. The pain and memory of his rage was very fresh. She was unable to move. D'Argo's arms came up and his hands encircled K'Tahli's throat.
The new threat galvanized Rainne. She rushed forward. D'Argo was too weak, and his arms fell. K'Tahli stumbled back..
"Rainne!"
Rainne picked her up from the floor and assessed the damage to K'Tahli as minimal.
"Rainne, the rages are every few moments. Can you do this?"
Rainne's eyes were haunted, but she nodded.
Pilot's voice broke in.
"How is D'Argo? The most recent hits have started fires in several bays. We need Ashan for the injured."
"D'Argo is not doing well, but he is beyond my help now." Ashan replied, "I will come. Direct me to the appropriate decks." Ashan turned to leave, K'Tahli turned to follow him.
"No." Ashan stopped her from following.
"You'll need me!"
"Rainne will need you more."
K'Tahli was puzzled, Rainne was very strong despite fragile appearances.
"Trust me."
He strode from the room, following Pilot's direction.
D'Argo had flown into another rage and blood was beginning to stream from the corners of his eyes. Rainne had to close her own for a moment. Whatever her differences with D'Argo, it was not sufficient to wish this agony on him. He stared at her, and seemed to see past her. She was not sure if his mind was gone or his sight, she was not even sure he was aware she was there.
"K'Tahli, come here. I will need you, not to amplify but to protect me."
"You lost me. Protect you?"
"K'Tahli, Ashan left you here with me because he discovered." she trailed off.
Rainne had realized it, but had not spoken it aloud. She would have preferred to tell Crais first, but she needed K'Tahli to know so she knew why Rainne needed her.
"I am going to have a child, K'Tahli. I am carrying Bialar's child. Ashan discovered this when he healed my injury, which is why he asked you to assist me. I don't have the strength to do this alone and shield the precious life inside me."
K'Tahli was stunned. She had sensed something.different, but she chalked it up to Rainne's humanity. There was an echo to her spirit, the baby explained that.
"My niece or nephew! Oh, Rainne that is wonderful. You have not had a chance to tell Crais yet, have you?"
"Not yet. I hope we all live to see the end of this solar day, so that I will have that opportunity."
The reminder of the specter hanging over them all sobered the moment. They clasped hands over D'Argo's inert form. They linked minds, as they had practiced on Talyn. Rainne sought out the rogue pulse wrecking havoc inside D'Argo. She located and isolated the phase. The pulse writhed, seemed sentient in its attempt to escape the hot glow in Rainne's hands. The power built in her hands, crackling the air around the two women. Suddenly Rainne arched her back and gasped. Her hands had matched and reversed the pulse, causing it to shoot back up Rainne's arms. K'Tahli pulled at the flash, creating a circle between the two women. They released their link, the pulse burst into the air and dissipated.
Their work was not over. The damage to D'Argo was extensive. The pulse release was not unlike what they had practiced.
"We need Ashan back here." Rainne said, panicky.
"Rainne, he's up on the other decks with injuries from the fire. It is you and I. I know the procedures, but you are the one with the healing ability. We have to try."
"But what if I can't?"
"Rainne, he is microts from death now. You are his hope for life."
"No. You and I are his hope for life." She extended her hands to K'Tahli. They linked one more time, to attempt to heal the damage to the body of a noble warrior.
The illusion kept the Peacekeeper battalion at bay, but would not continue forever. Talyn continued to eliminate the smaller ships as they ventured closer.
Moya was required to maneuver as if she were firing weapons. Those aboard were having difficulty maintaining footing. Aeryn and John were clinging to wall sections, trying to advance to command. Each of the decks had to be periodically checked during the battle. The phase modifications had not been able to render Moya cloaked, but they were able to mask the power to the shields, making her appear weak and unprotected fully in spots.
"Prowler pilots are trained to target the weak areas on a vessel, enabling the commandos to board," Aeryn had explained, "Reversing the strength signatures of the shielding will direct the prowler fire to the areas that are actually the strongest."
Another blast and roll sent John stumbling suddenly to the other side of the passageway. He slammed into the wall.
"Too bad we couldn't modulate some padding for in here. I haven't felt this beat up since I played football for U.N.C.," he smiled crookedly at the memory, "I was a tight end."
Aeryn glanced down, appreciatively at Crichton's backside.
"Your tight end seems to be in perfect working order." She replied, as the next wave of weapons fire rocked Moya to her side. Aeryn was thrown to the floor near Crichton's feet. He helped her back up and they continued the checking of the amplification modules. Crichton allowed himself time for a silly grin.
D'Argo was checking the areas in the lower decks where the shielding was actually strongest, so the weapon's fire was most concentrated. D'Argo had been in battles plenty, and was surefooted as he moved from station to station checking the polarity modifications.
"Pilot. Aft cargo section 9C has a decline in power. Can you isolate and increase it to rephase?"
"In a moment, D'Argo. I am reading fluctuations in central atmospherics that I need to address.
"I'll fix it myself." D'Argo growled. He was not incompetent, and he was still bristling from Crais' insinuations. He tore the access panel off and began the modulations. At the precise moment D'Argo had his hands on the stabilizer, a pulse burst struck the hull. The energy of the pulse would normally have been dispersed across the shielding, but the modulations never intended a pulse to reach the actual hull surface. The reversed polarizations caused the shielding to concentrate the energy flow into a broad beam rather than disperse it. The beam arced through the hull into D'Argo.
Simultaneously Moya and D'Argo howled in pain. Pilot was able to redirect enough energy to the area to block off the hull breach caused by the beam.
Crais witnessed the event through Talyn.
"Do not lower your shielding Talyn!" Talyn was agitated at his mother's pain, but maintained his battle focus. His link to the Captain was strong and a comfort to him, to be able to draw on the battle experience was invaluable. Talyn's first instinct was to lower the modulated shielding to allow him to fire his weaponry more efficiently, thus eliminating the threat to his family.
"I can assist Pilot in helping Moya. It is up to you to protect Rainne and K'Tahli and to destroy the prowlers so we can destroy the transport. You can do this, Talyn. You have learned well. You are strong enough."
Talyn turned and rolled, firing in several directions at once. The prowlers, sensing that they had scored a significant blow, were renewing their efforts. Crais' face showed his concern at the multidirectional firing sequence so close to Moya.
"Crais buddy" John's tone was in direct conflict to his friendly choice of terminology, "Did you tell junior to start shooting at us? Was that part of your original plan? Is that why you came here?" John was advancing on Crais' position. Crais was in a familiar stance, head cocked as if listening to an internal voice.
"Wait!" Ashan put his hand on Crichton's arm to restrain him.
Crais seemed to smile proudly for a moment. Talyn continued his weapons fire.
"He's done something to his weaponry, hasn't he?" Ashan guessed from the look on Crais' face. Unlike John, Ashan did not have three cycles of first hand reason to suspect Crais' motives.
"He was with us, through your link, in our strategy room." Ashan continued, smiling as it dawned on him. Not having spent as much time on Talyn, Ashan hadn't had time to appreciate the multiple talents of the growing Leviathan.
"That is correct. The beams are harmless to Moya. Talyn was in fact listening to our shield modifications and changing his weapon sequences." Crais replied. "Brilliant Talyn!"
Crais listened again for a moment. Talyn proudly announced he had been watching Rainne and K'Tahli work together on their own power and control issues, and he learned a great deal from their solution. He had drawn upon the hand of friendship to use Crais' scientific knowledge and his own vast powerful weapons. If K'Tahli and Rainne could discover a way to use Rainne's own potent weapon for a non-destructive purpose, then so could Talyn.
Crais was momentarily stunned. His pride at the ingenuity of Talyn was surpassed by the knowledge that Rainne had forever changed the trajectory of more than just his life. She had freed Talyn to be more than just a warship, bred to kill like any Peacekeeper. So intense was the realization, Crais let down his guard for a moment. He returned Ashan's smile.
"Pilot!" Aeryn called, "How is Moya?"
"She is in pain, but stable. The energy beam has left a puncture in her hulls. I have sent DRD's to repair it. I cannot raise D'Argo on the comm. He was nearest to the blast site."
"On my way." Aeryn raced down the passageway, "Send Ashan, D'Argo may be injured."
She had no idea how true her words would prove to be.
Ashan rounded the corner in the passageway and saw D'Argo writhing in pain on the floor. Residual phase pulse energy arced from his prone body to the various metal components in the passage, causing his agony to increase.
Ashan ran to the Luxan, crouched beside him. His pulses were erratic. Their phase modifications were made with leviathan physiology in mind, not Luxan. The pulses were stopping and starting his hearts at random intervals. The pain was excruciating. He howled in pain. Ashan tried to heal the damage the pulses had done. The lungs were undamaged, but there was swelling from phase burned tissue in the bronchial passages. Ashan tried to concentrate to renew the seared flesh.
A residual pulse leapt from the Luxan's body and struck Ashan's hands. He leapt back in pain. His hands were burned, but not badly enough to stop him. The scattered pulses had randomly destroyed synaptic pathways in D'Argo's brain. He was partly conscious. In a moment of lucidity he grabbed Ashan's arm.
"Please." he began. His eyes rolled back in his head, and whatever he had planned to say was lost in the viscous roar of Luxan rage. The damaged pathways in his brain that control the rage were gone. His head thrashed from side to side and his hands clawed at the air. Ashan tried to maintain the contact required to heal the damage, but the Luxan could not be held still.
"Crais!" Ashan called over his comm. "I need K'Tahli. I cannot heal him alone, the damage is too great. She channels power to me. It may be D'Argo's only chance at survival."
Crais heard the request, and hesitated relaying the order to Talyn. He could hear the Luxan howling in the intermittent throes of rage. Ashan would not risk K'Tahli to save the Luxan, would he? Crais decided in the same instant that he would not.
"The request has been made. Talyn assures me that she is on her way."
"Thank you."
Ashan worked tirelessly on the D'Argo. The rage had momentarily abated and he was still as death. The damage to his body was severe, Ashan was surprised he had lived this long.
"Ashan." D'Argo forced out the words, "Let me alone. It is honorable for a warrior to die alone." He gnashed his teeth, his face a mask of pure pain as the pulses ripped through his body. Ashan was not able to stop the pulses from robbing the flesh of its energy and it was indeed killing the Luxan.
"I am afraid I cannot comply. I am dedicated to healing. I can not let you alone while there is life in you."
"THEN I SHALL TAKE YOUR LIFE!" D'Argo bellowed. He tried to lunge at Ashan's throat, but his motor functions were nearly gone.
K'Tahli rushed off the transport and ran to the passageway where Ashan was working on D'Argo. She hurried to Ashan's side and knelt beside him. The familiar tingle surrounded her and she heard Ashan's breathing slow. The amplification of his gift of healing was calming to them both, a vital side effect in battle situations.
They fought the damage to his system side by side for a quarter of an arn.
"We are losing him." Ashan ground from between clenched teeth.
K'Tahli, not breaking her bond with Ashan, called out to Rainne with her mind.
"Rainne? Could you return to Moya? I need your help."
"I am still here. Talyn needed to execute a flank attack and thought it safe I wait until he came back to the docking bay side to retrieve me. Why?" Rainne knew that D'Argo was hurt, and hurt badly. Perhaps K'Tahli was offering her the opportunity to make peace with D'Argo before he died. She quickened her steps.
"No, he is not dead but he is close to it. The phase modification has given the energy inside him a renewing pulse. The pulse is damaging the areas we just finished healing. I think the only one who has the energy needed to knock this pulse out of the killing phase is you."
Rainne was on the verge of agreeing when she came around the corner and saw D'Argo. The rages had begun anew and he was bellowing incoherently about death and blood. The vision brought her to a terrified halt. The pain and memory of his rage was very fresh. She was unable to move. D'Argo's arms came up and his hands encircled K'Tahli's throat.
The new threat galvanized Rainne. She rushed forward. D'Argo was too weak, and his arms fell. K'Tahli stumbled back..
"Rainne!"
Rainne picked her up from the floor and assessed the damage to K'Tahli as minimal.
"Rainne, the rages are every few moments. Can you do this?"
Rainne's eyes were haunted, but she nodded.
Pilot's voice broke in.
"How is D'Argo? The most recent hits have started fires in several bays. We need Ashan for the injured."
"D'Argo is not doing well, but he is beyond my help now." Ashan replied, "I will come. Direct me to the appropriate decks." Ashan turned to leave, K'Tahli turned to follow him.
"No." Ashan stopped her from following.
"You'll need me!"
"Rainne will need you more."
K'Tahli was puzzled, Rainne was very strong despite fragile appearances.
"Trust me."
He strode from the room, following Pilot's direction.
D'Argo had flown into another rage and blood was beginning to stream from the corners of his eyes. Rainne had to close her own for a moment. Whatever her differences with D'Argo, it was not sufficient to wish this agony on him. He stared at her, and seemed to see past her. She was not sure if his mind was gone or his sight, she was not even sure he was aware she was there.
"K'Tahli, come here. I will need you, not to amplify but to protect me."
"You lost me. Protect you?"
"K'Tahli, Ashan left you here with me because he discovered." she trailed off.
Rainne had realized it, but had not spoken it aloud. She would have preferred to tell Crais first, but she needed K'Tahli to know so she knew why Rainne needed her.
"I am going to have a child, K'Tahli. I am carrying Bialar's child. Ashan discovered this when he healed my injury, which is why he asked you to assist me. I don't have the strength to do this alone and shield the precious life inside me."
K'Tahli was stunned. She had sensed something.different, but she chalked it up to Rainne's humanity. There was an echo to her spirit, the baby explained that.
"My niece or nephew! Oh, Rainne that is wonderful. You have not had a chance to tell Crais yet, have you?"
"Not yet. I hope we all live to see the end of this solar day, so that I will have that opportunity."
The reminder of the specter hanging over them all sobered the moment. They clasped hands over D'Argo's inert form. They linked minds, as they had practiced on Talyn. Rainne sought out the rogue pulse wrecking havoc inside D'Argo. She located and isolated the phase. The pulse writhed, seemed sentient in its attempt to escape the hot glow in Rainne's hands. The power built in her hands, crackling the air around the two women. Suddenly Rainne arched her back and gasped. Her hands had matched and reversed the pulse, causing it to shoot back up Rainne's arms. K'Tahli pulled at the flash, creating a circle between the two women. They released their link, the pulse burst into the air and dissipated.
Their work was not over. The damage to D'Argo was extensive. The pulse release was not unlike what they had practiced.
"We need Ashan back here." Rainne said, panicky.
"Rainne, he's up on the other decks with injuries from the fire. It is you and I. I know the procedures, but you are the one with the healing ability. We have to try."
"But what if I can't?"
"Rainne, he is microts from death now. You are his hope for life."
"No. You and I are his hope for life." She extended her hands to K'Tahli. They linked one more time, to attempt to heal the damage to the body of a noble warrior.